Various arrangements have been proposed for locking a bolt in its rearward position after the cartridge has been fired (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,846,928 to Ruger et al). Some arrangements engage the bolt at a point near its rearward end while others latch it in a forward area.
Certain prior mechanisms provide assemblies actuated by the magazine cartridge follower which assemblies serve to engage and thereafter to release the bolt. In other firearms the magazine cartridge follower directly engages and latches the bolt in its rearward position following expenditure of the last cartridge. Many such firearms carry cartridge ejectors employing spring-loaded plungers and other means for causing the cartridge to be propelled from the receiver in a generally random direction.
The present invention provides a novel mechanism responsive to the magazine cartridge follower for actively serving both as a bolt latch and cartridge ejector, and also serves to uniformly direct ejected cartridge cases away from centrally mounted telescopic sights.